As a Tempe electrician, Johnson Power & Air handles everything from routine repairs to full rewiring jobs for homeowners and businesses across the city. Tempe carries one of the older housing bases in the East Valley, with a median home built in 1984, which shapes a lot of what we see on service calls here.
Electrical Services We Provide in Tempe, AZ
Residential Electrical
We handle the full range of residential electrical needs: outlet and switch repairs, breaker replacement, panel upgrades, whole home wiring, and diagnosing sparking, burning smells, or breakers that trip for no obvious reason.
Commercial Electrical
Tenant improvements, commercial wiring, and panel work for Tempe businesses. Most commercial scopes are in scope; we don’t take on commercial refrigeration, chiller work, or hospital electrical.
Home Generator Installation
Installing home standby and portable generator hookups is within our scope; repairing, maintaining, or servicing generators afterward, including mobile units, is not.
EV Charger Installation
A common request as homeowners customize beyond what came standard with the build.
Why Tempe’s Housing Age Matters for Electrical Work
Tempe’s median home construction year is 1984, older than Gilbert, Chandler, or Queen Creek, and on par with Mesa. A lot of that growth traces back to Arizona State University’s expansion from the 1950s through the 1980s, which built out much of the city before newer East Valley suburbs existed. Homes from that era, especially those built in the aluminum-wiring window of the mid-to-late 1960s and 1970s, often still have outlets and switches that were never properly terminated to aluminum conductors, plus years of piecemeal DIY patch work layered on top. That combination is behind most of the sparking and burning calls we get in older parts of the city.
Why Arizona Summers and Monsoon Season Matter
From May through September, Arizona heat is the biggest driver of our service calls, tripping main breakers and pushing already-aging systems past their limit. Monsoon season, running late July through early October, adds storm-related damage on top of that: trees falling on panels, and underground wiring shorting out from water intrusion. The combination of internal load from AC systems running constantly and external surges from monsoon lightning and wind is why whole-home surge protection is now built into Arizona’s building code.
Service Area
We’re based in Gilbert and serve Tempe along with the rest of the greater Phoenix metro area, including Chandler, Mesa, and Queen Creek. When you call, we gather the scope over the phone, schedule a two-hour appointment window, and send a text when the technician is on the way. Onsite estimates are free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why does Tempe have more older-home electrical issues than newer East Valley cities?
A: Tempe’s median home was built in 1984, largely tied to growth around ASU going back to the 1950s. That’s decades earlier than Gilbert or Queen Creek, so aging wiring and outdated panels show up more often here.
Q: What's the most common electrical issue you see in older Tempe homes?
A: Aluminum wiring from homes built in the aluminum-wiring era of the mid-to-late 1960s and 1970s, especially where it was never properly terminated at outlets and switches. It’s a common source of sparking and burning calls.
Q: Do you install EV chargers in Tempe?
A: Yes, it’s a common request, particularly for homeowners adding a charger beyond what came standard with the build.
Q: Does being close to ASU change the kind of electrical work you see in Tempe?
A: Indirectly. Tempe’s homeownership rate sits around 42 percent, well below other Phoenix-metro cities, largely because of the university’s influence on the housing market. It’s part of why Tempe’s housing stock and its electrical issues skew older than newer East Valley suburbs.